Yume Food wins three Premier’s Sustainability Awards

12 October 2018

The Premier’s Recognition Award has been won at the 2018 Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards by Yume Food for developing an online marketplace for quality surplus food, reducing waste and landfill impact.

Earlier at the Awards’ ceremony, Yume won the Innovative Products or Services, and the Small and Medium Enterprises categories.

The Premier's Regional Recognition Award was presented by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate, Lily D’Ambrosio, to Gannawarra Shire Council for a program that puts sustainability at the heart of its local economic future, featuring the first large-scale solar farm and battery storage in Victoria.

Yume Food connects suppliers with buyers to help mitigate the 9.5 million tonnes of food that annually goes to landfill in Australia.

For a range of reasons, primary producers, wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers can be left with tonnes of surplus food and a lack of time or the contacts to re-sell it. When they provide product details and information to Yume, it is then uploaded to the marketplace and made available to a growing network of buyers.

Yume Food brings the whole process together – it facilitates a seamless transaction between the buyer and supplier, helps to arrange the delivery of goods and can also manage donations to registered food rescue organisations, helping ensure edible food gets to the people who need it most.

The Premier’s Sustainability Awards are now in their 16th year and recognise individuals, organisations, governments and businesses working to create a more liveable Victoria for us all.

Sustainability Victoria’s Chief Executive, Stan Krpan, congratulated all winners across ten categories and the two big winners for the night.

“Through the Awards, year on year we see more and more Victorians showing leadership and advocating for a cleaner, healthier environment,” he said.

“Entrants continue to delight us with new and better ways to manage waste, water and energy – the Premier’s Sustainability Awards is an ideal showcase to celebrate their success.”

2018 Victorian Premier's Sustainability Awards winners

Built Environment

The Caulfield to Dandenong level crossing removal project will ease traffic congestion on Melbourne roads through the removal of rail crossings while also providing 22.5 hectares of greenfields linear parkland to local communities.

Community

Kelly Mrocki – The Girl Who Saved the Frogs Incursion.
Glen Iris.

Kelly Mrocki runs an incursion for Early Childhood Education Services, reading from her books The Girl Who Saved The Frogs and The Boy Who Saved The Whale, and providing hands-on sustainability experiences for our youngest citizens.

Education

Beeac Primary School – Brolga Pathways.
Beeac.

Students from Beeac Primary School worked with environmental artist Peter Day to develop a project that educates the community about the brolga – a local threatened species – using the arts as a focus.

Environmental Protection

A campaign by Zoos Victoria and Philip Island Nature Parks, known as When Balloons Fly, Seabirds Die, encourages people to use bubbles instead of balloons at outdoor events, reducing plastic pollution and saving marine life.

Government

City of Melbourne, City of Moreland, City of Port Phillip, City of Yarra – Melbourne Renewable Energy Project.
Melbourne.

The Melbourne Renewable Energy Project marks the first time in Australia that a group of local governments, cultural institutions, universities and corporations have collectively purchased renewable energy from a newly-built facility.

Health

Beaconsfield Dental – Beaconsfield Dental Health.
Berwick.

A dental practice in Berwick leads the way in sustainability through features such as 126 solar panels, water tanks, energy efficient fittings, indigenous garden, dental product recycling programs and an electric car charger for patients’ use.

Innovative Products or Services

Yume is an online marketplace for quality surplus food products that connects suppliers with buyers – the business model ensures that all good food is enjoyed, which is better for consumers’ pocket and for the planet.

Large Business

IKEA Richmond – IKEA Richmond Refurbishment Project.
Richmond.

A major refurbishment of the IKEA Richmond outlet has been achieved using key sustainability and energy saving principles, and is now used to teach the value of sustainability principles to customers, staff and the broader community.